


You Shine So Bright

by AlmostSilent



Series: Stars Are Falling All For Us [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek is a Good Alpha, Derek is a Good Boyfriend, Erica learns her lesson, Lydia does not, M/M, Minor Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Minor Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes, in the third chapter, kind of future fic, the Pack is healing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-20
Updated: 2014-06-20
Packaged: 2018-02-05 11:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1817080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmostSilent/pseuds/AlmostSilent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things really did feel amazing at the moment. Isaac and Boyd had been helping them move in for most of the morning, packing up the boxes from both Stiles’ house and Derek’s loft before driving them here and unloading them all. And now they were almost done, Boyd was bringing up the last box and then that was it. Apart from Stiles’ need to redecorate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You'll Have My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Work Title and Chapter Titles from 'Silver Bullet' by Hawthorne Heights.
> 
> I'm so sorry this took me so long to finish. I have a bunch of excuses but mostly it comes down to the fact that I can't really write when my depression gets bad, so fics don't get updated. But here it is, in three chapters because of slight time skips. Hopefully it's the happy ending you all wanted :D
> 
> (ETA: because of that whole ebooks-tree thing (information can be found [here](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Ebooks_Tree).) this is the official disclaimer that while I don't own the characters, I do own the work and I don't give permission for it to be posted anywhere else without my explicit permission.)

The early afternoon light was filtering in through the wide living room window, spilling into the room and making everything seem bright and fresh. The plain white walls and the impersonal decor added to the feeling of newness that pervaded the apartment.

“We need to paint,” Stiles declared. Derek hummed lightly in what could’ve been agreement, from where he was arranging boxes in the kitchen. The open plan feeling of the apartment meant that Stiles only had to turn his head to see him.

“You mean you don’t have colours picked out for every room yet?” Isaac teased lightly from where he was carrying another box in.

“I mean, sure I have _some_ ideas,” Stiles shot back with grin. He heard Derek’s huffed laugh but he still seemed rather engrossed in the boxes.

The whole process of moving in with Derek had been a little bit exhausting but mostly just made Stiles feel oddly _settled_ , like his life was headed exactly where it was supposed to be going. It was a pleasantly warm feeling.

Stiles had taken his time before deciding if moving in with Derek was something he definitely wanted and just as importantly, something he was ready for. He’d stayed with his dad for the three weeks before classes started and then another month and half on top of that before he told Derek he was ready to live with him. 

That was two weeks ago and here they were. It actually hadn’t taken as long as Stiles had half-way thought it would for him and Derek to find a place they both liked that was close to both the University campus and Derek’s new job, at a much nicer garage than the one he’d worked at back in Beacon Hills. Stiles had even convinced Derek to take a few classes at Beacon County University where Stiles, Isaac, Boyd and Scott were all going, so that he could work on finishing his business degree.

Things really did feel amazing at the moment. Isaac and Boyd had been helping them move in for most of the morning, packing up the boxes from both Stiles’ house and Derek’s loft before driving them here and unloading them all. And now they were almost done, Boyd was bringing up the last box and then that was it. Apart from Stiles’ need to redecorate.

“We should paint before unpacking probably. What do you think Derek?”

“That’s fine, but we should get the paint today then, so we can get settled as quickly as possible,” Derek answers, finally making his way out of the kitchen, leaving a stack of boxes behind.

“Hmm, you make a good point,” Stiles was surveying the room again as Derek came up and hugged him from behind, looping his arms around Stiles’ waist with his chin resting lightly on Stiles’ shoulder. “We have the whole weekend free though, unless you switched shifts without telling me again?” Stiles asked pointedly, but the fondness was obvious in his voice as he linked his fingers with Derek’s over his stomach.

“No, we have the whole weekend, but Allison said she’d stop by tomorrow.”

Stiles nodded, he and Allison were honestly fine, even though every time he saw her she made a point to mention Scott in increasingly unsubtle ways. Which was mostly unnecessary, he knew Scott was trying and they’d met up three times in the past month outside of official pack business. Still, Stiles wasn’t exactly ready to go back to how things were, possibly never would be, not one hundred percent, and that was what Allison and Scott wanted. It made things a little awkward sometimes was all.

Still, Allison was more than welcome and Stiles was glad to have her as a friend. Though he saw more of Isaac and Boyd who were nearly always around like they were trying to make up for the pack members who were missing. But it was nice, Stiles had grown even closer to them over the last three months and he was glad he knew them better now.

He’d been getting closer to Isaac before everything happened, but now Isaac was like the little brother he’d always wanted. With a stable pack Isaac hasn’t felt the need to be so defensive, and honestly Isaac’s vulnerable, sensitive side is much easier to get along with. The rift in the pack had really affected him and he stuck especially close to Stiles and Derek after that, which was actually nice, Stiles definitely needed the reassurance just as much as Isaac did.

Stiles had been secretly worried about Boyd when Erica left because he knew Erica had been the closest thing Boyd had to a best friend at the time. Though maybe it was more fair to say that Boyd craved any kind of companionship and Erica wanted someone who was impressed and in awe of her. Stiles wasn’t entirely sure, but Boyd actually seemed to be doing more than fine. In fact Stiles was probably Boyd’s best friend now, because when they spent time together they found they actually got along really well. Boyd had a snarky, sarcastic sense of humour that Stiles had always appreciated but he was also secretly smart and Stiles had encouraged him to pursue Engineering at college because he knew it was something Boyd was good at and would enjoy. The thing about Boyd was that his silences said as much as his words, but he actually talked more than people gave him credit for, he just didn’t have the patience for bullshit or idiots. Once Stiles cut the bullshit around him and Boyd figured out he wasn’t an idiot everything was really good.

Jackson had only hung out with the pack during official pack meetings but he always looked so conflicted when it was time to leave. Stiles knew that his relationship with Lydia was a little messed up and a little unhealthy and no one really wanted to or felt qualified to make any kind of judgement or give advice there. Derek made sure to let Jackson know that he was still pack, even when he followed Lydia to Massachusetts for college. Stiles had a secret suspicion that Jackson would transfer back closer before college was done, possibly even before the end of the first school year, but he hadn’t shared that theory with anyone but Derek.

Still, their little pack was healing, made easier with the absence of Lydia, and Erica’s temporary relocation. Stiles wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen when Erica came home, especially because it was possible it would be happening sooner rather than later. The Alpha of the pack Erica was staying with kept in touch with Derek and the last phone call had apparently sounded positive, or so Derek had told Stiles, so everyone figured it was just a matter of time before Erica came back. No one really seemed to know how to feel about that. Because Erica had been their friend, but she also had a major attitude problem and hadn’t been ready to accept her place in the pack. Stiles especially was on edge about it, mostly because he figured that Erica still probably resented him and he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to interact with her when she came back.

So things weren’t perfect in the pack, not by a long shot, but when it was just Derek, Stiles, Isaac and Boyd it really did feel good, like a pack should. And during pack meetings when Scott and Allison joined them it wasn’t as awkward as it could’ve been, wasn’t as strained now as it had been at first, between the six of them. Maybe things could really get better for all of them, they could become what a pack is supposed to be, once and for all.


	2. I Know What Scares You The Most

Erica was finally coming back, her stay with the Donahue pack finally over and she was going to officially be part of the Hale pack once again. None of them had seen her in three and a half months, it was longer than they’d expected and according to Derek that was because the Alpha matriarch of the Donahue’s had decided that Erica needed a re-education. Stiles wasn’t exactly sure what that re-education entailed, but both Derek and the Donahue Alpha had agreed that she was ready to come home, so it was happening and Stiles had to hope that maybe Erica had finally changed for the better.

Boyd and Isaac were both living on campus and as such spent most of their free time at Stiles and Derek’s apartment, because it was better than the dorms. But Stiles wasn’t quite ready for Erica to be in his home, and Derek hadn’t pushed the issue. 

Erica had been attending Beacon Hills Community College because her grades had dropped dramatically after getting the bite and she didn’t care enough to get them back up. When Stiles was feeling particularly vindictive he mentally pointed out to himself that Erica hadn’t been the greatest student even before the bite, not that she was stupid, but she wasn’t really book smart. But then he’d feel guilty because he wasn’t that petty and he knew there were so many more ways to be smart than just being good in school. 

In some ways it was harder for him to deal with Erica than it was to deal with Lydia, and only part of that was because Lydia was half way across the country. Lydia had admitted that she’d done what she did because of the pack, and while it was a huge betrayal because Stiles had thought they were good friends, it was at least something he could prove her wrong about, something he could fight. Erica on the other hand had done it for power, she’d done it for herself and herself alone, there was no moral high ground to take, but also nothing for Stiles to disprove or fight against. He could maybe argue that Erica was just jealous, but it wasn’t really that, it was because she thought she was better than him, Erica thought she deserved it more. And that was harder to argue against.

Obviously Stiles had done a lot of work on his own issues over the past three and a half months, trying to stop his own negative thoughts from getting in his way. Actually it had been helping, especially with Derek being as amazing as he is. There was never a day that went by that Derek didn’t remind him how much he loved him or complimented him even in some small way. It was maybe silly to need the reinforcement, but it really did help Stiles feel better about himself. 

Still, sitting in the old loft that hadn’t really been used since he and Derek moved in together, waiting for Erica to show up was more nerve-wracking than Stiles was expecting it to be. He was glad for the support of Isaac and especially for Boyd, who he knew was also dealing with Erica coming back. He didn’t think Boyd had realised how unequal their friendship had been before Erica left, but he did know that Boyd wanted to forgive her. 

Scott and Allison were looking a little awkward over in the corner, mostly because Scott hadn’t handled the news that Derek and Stiles had moved in together too well and it had set their friendship back a bit. Stiles had hoped that Scott was learning to get over his ‘Derek issues’ but it was apparently going to take a bit more time. They both wanted it to work out though, so they were still trying. That’s the thing about family, you can’t get rid of them that easily, and after everything Scott was still his brother.

Derek was watching the card game Stiles, Isaac and Boyd had going on with that look of quiet amusement he got. Stiles figured it was mostly because the game they were playing was one Boyd and Stiles had made up themselves and somehow Isaac was still beating them at it, kid was quite the card shark.

When Erica finally arrived it was with less drama than Stiles had half expected. Of course all of the wolves heard her long before she reached the door, and Derek was stood waiting for her in the middle of the loft. 

The first thing Stiles noticed was how different she looked. She’d cut her hair so it was shoulder length and framing her uncharacteristically make-up free face. Her clothes had changed too, gone were the leather and corsets, instead she was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans with a cardigan. She looked...softer. It was definitely a good look on her.

When she came in she went straight to Derek and exposed her neck deferentially, submitting to him easily. Stiles kind of froze. Obviously whatever had happened with the Donahue pack had significantly changed Erica’s attitude. Derek just laid his hand gently on her neck for a second before nodding once decisively. 

What Stiles hadn’t been expecting to happen next was for Erica to rush up to him and pull him into a hug before starting to cry. All he could do was hug back, trying to offer her some measure of comfort. He’d never been able to stand it when other people cried, he always felt the need to comfort them and it was just exacerbated because Erica was pack.

“I’m so sorry Stiles,” she was sobbing, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to- I was just- Everything was so-” she couldn’t seem to finish a sentence without it breaking off into a sob, but Stiles understood exactly what she was trying to say. He pulled back to look her in the eyes, keeping his hands on her shoulders.

“You got a taste of what it was like to be top of the food chain, untouchable and it went to your head,” Stiles said for her, “It was intoxicating and you wanted more. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely right? You forgot yourself, you lost who you were underneath all the bullshit. I get it Erica, I do,” Stiles nodded, noting the free-falling tears down Erica’s cheeks, “But you have to try harder, remember who your friends are and that we’re always going to be better as a pack than we are individually. ‘Cause I think the real Erica could be really awesome, kay?”

Erica was nodding pretty much before he’d stopped speaking and she quickly pulled him back into a tight hug and he let her. She was whispering promises and apologies into his ear, clutching him tight. All Stiles could do was hold her back and metaphorically let out the breath he’d been holding for three and a half months. Whatever had happened with the Donahue pack, Erica was back and attitude free and hopefully everything could start to put itself back together now. 

They had their pack and everything was going to be alright. He could feel it.


	3. Tonight The Moon is Full (And I Can't Live Without You)

“Ryan come on, it’s time to get up,” Stiles called again up the stairs. Why did eight year olds have to be so difficult in the mornings? 

Derek was still in bed because Talia had woken them up crying many times in the night, and while Stiles had taken half of the shifts like the good father and husband that he was, Derek couldn’t sleep through her crying or fussing even if he wanted to. It was as sweet as it was annoying.

Ryan had come to them when he was four, at the time his whole pack had been killed and he was all alone in the world and while they hadn’t intended to keep him Stiles honestly couldn’t let him go, so this was their first time dealing with the new born baby side of child raising. It was awful. Don’t get Stiles wrong, Talia was the most adorable baby he’d ever seen and he loved her as fiercely as he loved Ryan, he was just really hating the sleep exhaustion.

After finally getting Ryan up and dressed and ready for school though (while also feeding and changing Talia and getting Ryan’s lunch packed, because he was actually a superhero) he was glad to be heading out of the house. Predictably Derek was still asleep.

Before Talia was born Derek was usually the one to drop Ryan off at school on the way to work and Stiles was usually the one to pick him up because he worked from home and didn’t need to duck out from work. But since Talia, Derek had been using the few hours in the morning to catch up on sleep, so Stiles was doing the school run single-handedly. Stiles felt like the most understanding husband ever honestly, because he thought that anyone else would make a bigger deal about it than he did. Especially since he really hated doing the school run.

At 26 Stiles was the youngest parent out of Ryan’s whole class, understandably, and while that shouldn’t have been an issue, some people kind of made it one. Some of the moms looked down their noses at him and acted like he couldn’t possibly know what he was doing as a father, which was both insulting and wrong. Stiles was actually a really great dad, he wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

So the judgement he got from the soccer moms and working parents alike was not appreciated. It set his teeth on edge and made him feel like he had something to prove. Still, all he did was kiss Ryan goodbye (which was met with a comically disgusted face and a wiped cheek) and watch him enter his classroom before making his way to the store. 

Stiles had kind of mastered the art of shopping with a pushchair already, and it really hadn’t been long since their first momentous trip. It was very much a ‘learn by doing’ experience but he’d picked it up quickly. He knew Derek was struggling more than he was with all the baby stuff, but he thought it was more down to Derek’s fear and anxiety than anything else. But they were a team, that’s how it had always been, and it’s what they’d promised when they’d gotten married a year ago. 

He wasn’t really paying as much attention as he should have been, wandering around the store and chatting happily at his daughter, so when he almost bumped into someone, it took him a minute to recognise them.

“Lydia?”

“Stiles,” she looked honestly shocked to see him, which was kind of funny considering he was the one who actually lived in Beacon Hills. Last he’d heard of Lydia she had just moved to New York. At least, that’s what she’d told Danny, who’d told Jackson.

“What are you doing here?” There was surprisingly no edge to his voice, just honest curiosity. He’d not really thought about Lydia in a few years, had long since abandoned any grudge he might’ve had.

“My mom’s getting remarried, I’m in town for the wedding,” she explained, still looking amusingly shocked. Then Stiles noticed that she was looking between him and Talia, and the shock made a little more sense.

“Oh right! Lydia, this is Talia,” he beamed, “Mine and Derek’s youngest,” he added.

“Youngest?” she asked, then after a moment’s pause, “You and Derek are still together?”

Of course Lydia probably wouldn’t know anything about his little family or the pack she’d left behind, after Jackson had broken up with her she’d made it a point not to keep in contact with anyone in Beacon Hills. She hadn’t even spoken to Danny after he’d moved back two years ago to start his company.

“Ryan’s at school,” he half explained, “And yeah, Derek and I got married nearly a year ago now. It was just a small ceremony, friends and family. What about you? How’s your life been?”

Lydia got a slightly pinched expression on her face and too late Stiles remembered that she’d moved to New York because her doctoral thesis had been rejected and she hadn’t handled it well. Though it wasn’t unfair to assume that her life had changed since then.

“I’m working for my father’s company,” she explained in that same faux-casual way she’d had all those years ago. Stiles almost wanted to press because from what he remembered Lydia’s father had been some venture capitalist or something, but he didn’t press it because he could tell it wasn’t something she wanted to talk about. “I heard that you’d written some books or something?”

“Oh yeah,” he smiled again, despite the condescending way she’d asked, “My next book’s coming out soon. Basically a guide on raising a little werewolf disguised as fiction, which is what all my books are really. Guides on handling the supernatural hidden in plain sight. My more honest books are sold more under ground under my real name and my mom’s surname, I could send you some copies if you were interested?”

“Sure why not, you can have them sent to my mother’s address,” and now she was frowning in that way she did whenever someone beat her, but Stiles wasn’t sure what the competition was. Not exactly.

“Well, I better get going,” Stiles nodded a little absently, noting that Talia was starting to fuss, “Gotta finish the shopping so I can get home and feed this little one.”

Parting from Lydia was strange and almost uncomfortable. Lydia used to be a close friend, was part of his life for years before that, and now she’s a stranger with a familiar face. It was likely he’d never really known Lydia at all, given what she’d done, but now it was more than that. Stiles felt weirdly disconnected from it, because he wasn’t the same person he’d been back then, not really. He had a confidence now that he didn’t have back then, a sense of self-assurance that he was missing as a teenager, and there was something about that two minute conversation that left Stiles convinced that Lydia hadn’t really changed at all.

He was proven spectacularly right when about a month later he got a letter in the mail informing him that Lydia was suing him, because apparently he’d used some of the text she’d translated from the Argent’s bestiary in one of his books. He actually laughed when he read it, prompting Derek’s questioning eyebrow. He handed over the letter to be read while he took over feeding Talia.

“Can she actually do that?” Derek asks after a minute.

“You can sue someone for just about anything, but she’s not going to win if it actually goes to court, and I’m pretty sure she knows that. Her lawyer certainly knows that,” Stiles shrugs, “I think she’s just doing it to make a point, or to make herself feel better.”

“Hmm,” is Derek’s only reply. It’s clear he still has a little more resentment towards Lydia than Stiles does, so he quickly changes the subject.

“Also don’t forget we’ve got the dinner at Scott and Allison’s tonight, I think they’re finally going to announce Ally’s pregnancy and we’re going to have to pretend we haven’t known for the past month,” Stiles smiles. 

Then he starts talking about the conversation he’d had with Erica that morning about how she’s waiting around for Boyd to propose and dropping hints and that she has no idea that he’s planning to do it on the anniversary of when he got turned in two months. Derek sits there listening with a smile on his face, looking tired but happy.

It took them a long time to get here, Stiles thinks, but their family, their pack, is definitely worth it. Because they’re happy, and that’s everything.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's the end folks.
> 
> I hope you guys aren't disappointed with this ending (and some of you may have wanted Lydia to learn her lesson, but I don't think that's really fits her character the way I've written her).
> 
> Also, in reference to Talia and the vagueness of how she came into the world, that was intentional. I wanted them to have at least one adopted child, but I left Talia's... (is there a word that means provenance but for babies?), well I left it vague so you could imagine it how you like, it's all fair game. Could be mpreg, could be another adoption, could be they used a surrogate, which means she could be human or werewolf, it's honestly up to you. So yeah, just putting that out there.
> 
> Please let me know what you guys think and thank you so much for your patience and feedback and support, this would not exist the way it is without you all <3


End file.
